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City cleaners had to scrub the memorial to remove the graffiti on Monday morning.

George Murphy, 72, whose father fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino and in Normandy during the Second World War, was left distraught by the sight of the vandalised memorial.

He said: 'I think it’s terrible to see them destroy what these veterans have done for us. It’s like stepping on them. These people wanted to protect our lives. My father would be very upset over this.'

'Upsetting': Vandals wrote 'Canada will burn; Praise Allah' in black marker pen over the memorial on Remembrance Sunday

Graffiti was spotted just a few hours after anti-war protesters chanted slogans throughout the Remembrance Day two minute silence in the city

John McEwen, 67, built the memorial in 1995 to symbolise the military contributions of Canada since World War I.

He said: 'Do I take it personally? No, and I don’t think the veterans should take it personally. Stupidity isn’t even politics. Stupidity is ignorance and ignorance is an indulgence in a place where you don’t know what’s going on.'

Officers are also investigating other vandalism where 'Holy Jihad' was written over a sign near the memorial in black marker.